Sideboard control mechanism
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a mechanism for locking and actuating a pivoted sideboard or the like pivotably supported about an axis generally in plane alignment with the associated vehicle floor. An actuating mechanism is secured to a non-pivoted board adjacent to the pivoted sideboard and an actuating member is connected to the pivoted sideboard at a point distant from the axis. A locking mechanism retains the sideboard in the closed position by locking it in both ends to adjacent non-pivoted boards or other means fixed in relation to the vehicle floor. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In previously known mechanisms of this kind it has been considered necessary to have one actuating mechanism at each end of the pivoted sideboard, and also a separate locking mechanism for each end of the pivoted sideboard. The known mechanisms of this kind do, however, suffer from considerable drawbacks relating to the installation thereof, since the work with installing two separate actuating mechanisms and two separate locking mechanisms, possibly together with the requisite remote-controlling equipment, demands a great effort of highly qualified personnel, which situation is not made more tolerable by the fact that in many cases the work has to be done out-of-doors during inclement weather. As to the functioning, the known mechanisms are relatively vulnerable, especially because one of the actuating mechanisms is placed in a highly exposed position at the rear of the vehicle in question, and both this mechanism, the associated locking mechanism as well as the remote-controlling equipment may easily be damaged under the rough operating conditions often encountered by vehicles of the kind presently referred to, namely during work on building and construction sites. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention there is but one actuating mechanism for each pivoted sideboard, that actuating mechanism being placed adjacent to one end of the sideboard. The locking mechanism includes a transmission member which transmits locking and unlocking movements from the one end of the sideboard to the opposite end. 
     The present invention is based on the recognition of the fact that the pivoted sideboards being used on modern vehicles of the kind presently referred to exhibit such a high torsional rigidity, that they may readily be actuated by means of one single actuating mechanism placed at one of its ends. The novel arrangement of the locking mechanism also makes it possible to place the remote-controlling means for the locking mechanism at the same end of the pivoted sideboard at which the actuating mechanism is situated, and in this way long and vulnerable remote-controlling leads to the opposite end of the pivoted sideboard are avoided. 
     With the actuating mechanism constructed as a ready made unit it is possible to achieve a further simplification of the installation work, since in many cases it will be sufficient to bolt or weld the mechanism to the part of the vehicle in question and connect the power supply leads and conduits to the vehicle&#39;s power supply system. The ready-to-install unit can include the hydraulic pump necessary for the functioning of the mechanism and the electric drive motor for this pump as well as electrically controlled valves for controlling the actuating mechanism and the locking mechanism or mechanisms. The work of making the connecting will solely consist in the connection of a number of electrical wires, which may be simplified further by using multi-contact plugs and sockets. The ready-to-install unit may in certain cases also include the locking mechanism or mechanisms and e.g. the hydraulic conduits for the actuating means for this mechanism or mechanisms. 
     In an embodiment using a lost motion connection between the actuating mechanism and the pivoted sideboard it is possible to omit special remotely controlled actuating means for the locking mechanism, since in this embodiment the locking mechanism is actuated directly from the actuating mechanism in the initial phase of the latter&#39;s opening movement. 
     In an embodiment with a second vertical position 180° from the closed position it is possible to swing the pivoted sideboard right down to the hanging position. With this arrangement it is possible to avoid that material resting on the pivoted sideboard imposes a strain on the actuating mechanism. Another advantage achieved is that the hanging pivoted sideboard does not come in the way of a fork-lift truck used for placing goods on or removing goods from the vehicle&#39;s floor. 
     In an embodiment where the transmission member is the sideboard itself, it is possible to achieve further simplification of the mechanism, the pivoted sideboard already existing being utilized to transmit the locking and unlocking movements from one end of it to the other. The mutually cooperating locking engagement means may preferably be constructed with a latching effect, the pivoted sideboard for this purpose being spring loaded in the direction of engagement. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the mechanism with associated parts of a vehicle load box, 
     FIGS. 2 to 5 illustrate the procedure during the disengagement and opening movement of a pivoted sideboard, 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 show details of the locking mechanism in the mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, in elevation and longitudinal section respectively, 
     FIG. 8 shows a ready-to-install unit constructed from two actuating mechanisms of the type shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 together with associated power supply equipment, and 
     FIG. 9 shows a second exemplary embodiment of the locking mechanism in a mechanism according to the invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows those parts of a load box for a load-carrying vehicle associated with a sideboard 1. At the edge being lowermost in its vertical closed position as shown, the sideboard 1 is pivotably supported about an axis 2 shown in FIG. 2. By means of a hydraulic actuating mechanism 3 the sideboard 1 may be moved from the vertical closing position mentioned towards various other positions, e.g. in which the sideboard is generally horizontal or depends generally vertically from the axis 2. A locking mechanism 4 is adapted to retain the sideboard 1 in the vertical closing position. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the locking mechanism 4 comprises a transmission rod 5, which is adapted to transmit locking and unlocking movements from the end of the sideboard 1 closest to the actuating mechanism 3 to the opposite end of the sideboard. The sole actuating mechanism 3 is situated on a fixed front board 6. In a manner well-known, the complete box shown in FIG. 1 may be adapted to be pivoted in one or a number of directions. 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the actuating mechanism 3 consists of 
     a pivoted arm 7, with a first part 8 thereof pivotably supported about an axis 9, and with a second part 10 thereof being set at an angle relative to the first part 8 and having two joint bearings 11 and 12, 
     a double-acting actuating cylinder 13, the cylinder end of which is pivotably supported about an axis 14, while its piston end is connected to the second part 10 of the pivoted arm 7 through the joint bearing 11, 
     an actuating rod 15, with one of its ends being connected to the second part 10 of the pivoted arm 7 through the joint bearing 12, and with its other end being secured to one end of the transmission rod 5, as well as 
     control and sensing means (not shown). 
     The locking mechanism 4, seen especially in FIGS. 2b, 3b and c, and FIGS. 6 and 7, consists of 
     the above-mentioned transmission rod 5, at its end pointing to the left in FIG. 2b being secured to the actuating rod 15 through a latch block 16, and at its end pointing to the right in FIG. 2b being shaped in the form of a locking bolt 17, 
     a catch (18), which is secured to the front board 6 and adapted to cooperate with the latch block 16 in a manner to be explained below, 
     a locking-bolt bush 19, which is secured to a fixed member at the end lying to the right in FIG. 2b, e.g. a rear board 20, and which is adapted to cooperate with the locking-bolt portion 17 of the transmission rod 5 in a manner to be explained below, 
     a double-acting actuating mechanism consisting of a single-acting hydraulic actuating cylinder 22, which is adapted to move the transmission rod 5 from the right to the left in FIGS. 2b, 3b, 3c, 6 and 7, against the force from a spring 23 permanently acting upon the transmission rod in a direction in which its locking-bolt portion 17 is maintained in engagement with the locking-bolt bush 19 secured to the rear board 20, as well as 
     connecting means, control means and possibly sensing means (not shown) for the actuating cylinder 22 and/or components being actuated by same. 
     In the position of rest, shown in FIG. 2, the sideboard 1 is in its vertical closing position and is locked in this position by the locking mechanism 4, both the cylinder 13 and the cylinder 22 are in their non-actuated state, i.e. the pressure difference across their pistons is insignificant or zero. When the sideboard 1 is to be opened by swinging outwards about the axis 2 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2a, pressure is supplied to the cylinder 22 by means of the control means (not shown), so that the cylinder 22 moves the transmission rod 5 against the force of the spring 23 to the left in FIG. 2b, by which the latch block 16 is disengaged from the catch 18, and at the same time the bolt 17 is pulled out of the bolt bush 19. At this stage the sideboard 1 is free to be moved outwards by contracting the cylinder 13, so that the arm 7 is turned clockwise in FIG. 2a and thus moves the actuating rod 15 and the upper part of the sideboard 1 towards the right in FIG. 2a. This movement may be continued as far as desired in each case, e.g. to the horizontal position shown in FIG. 4 or the depending vertical position shown in FIG. 5. It will be seen especially from FIG. 5 that the angular shape of the pivoted arm 7 contributes to making the movement to the depending position shown in FIG. 5 possible. 
     As will be seen from FIGS. 3b and c as well as FIGS. 4 and 5, the catch 18 is shaped like a reclining U with the open side facing outwards, so that the part of the transmission rod 5 being connected to the latch block 16 may be moved into and out of engagement with the catch 18. 
     When the sideboard 1 has been moved outwardly to such an extent that the latch block 16 has been disengaged from the catch 18, the pressure in the cylinder 22 is released, whereupon the spring 23 moves the transmission rod 5 towards the right in FIGS. 3b and c. 
     The latch block 16 comprises a ramp 24 which as shown in FIGS. 2b, 3b, 3c and 6 extends at an oblique angle away from the center and axis of the transmission rod 5. When the sideboard 1 is moved from an open position to the closed position shown in FIG. 2 by means of the actuating mechanism 3, i.e. by actuating the cylinder 13 in a direction opposite to the previous one, the ramp 24 on the latch block 16 will during the terminal phase of the closing movement--vide FIGS. 3c and 3b respectively--cause the latch block 16 to move towards the left in FIG. 3c and then--see FIGS. 3b and 2c respectively--move slidingly past the catch 18 and snap in behind same to the locking position shown in FIGS. 2b. The latch block 16 and the catch 18 comprise mutually cooperating slightly oblique locking engagement surfaces 25 and 26 respectively, which provide a wedge action and thus prevent lost motion between these two components. During the terminal phase of the closing movement, during which the transmission rod 5 is moved from the right towards the left in FIGS. 3c and 3b respectively, the locking bolt portion 17 of the transmission rod 5 is also retracted to such an extent that it can pass the outermost part of the locking bolt bush 19 without hindrance and then--as seen in FIG. 2b--snap into same at the same time as the latch block 16 snaps in behind the catch 18. At this point it should be observed that during the closing movement it is not necessary to actuate the cylinder 22 of the locking mechanism 4. 
     An example of the more detailed construction of the transmission rod 5 and the means cooperating therewith is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The rod 5 is divided into four mutually connected parts by means of three articulation axes 27, 28 and 29, viz.--as taken from the left towards the right in FIGS. 6 and 7-- 
     a latch block carrier 30, which is connected to the actuating rod 15 not shown in FIG. 6 to the latch block 16 shown only in FIG. 6, 
     a piston rod 31 for the piston 32 movable in the actuating cylinder 22, the right hand side of which piston may be acted upon by pressure fluid introduced through a bore 33, said rod 31 in its end facing towards the right in FIGS. 6 and 7 cooperating with the spring 23 referred to above in the manner likewise referred to above, 
     a connecting piece 34, as well as 
     the above-mentioned locking bolt 17 being slidable in a slide bush 35, which together with a support bush 36 enclosing and supporting the actuating cylinder 22 is secured to the sideboard 1 at the edge of same being uppermost in the closing position, in a manner not shown. 
     FIG. 8 shows how two mechanisms may be situated symmetrically with one on each side of a load box, while a control unit 37 is placed on the front board 6 between the two actuating mechanisms 3. The control unit 37 in a manner known but not shown contains the requisite power supply and control means, that are connected, partly to the actuating cylinders 13 and 22, partly to the mechanism&#39;s sensors (not shown) for indicating the state and position of the mechanism and/or the sideboard 1, and partly to the requisite power supply and remote-control leads and conduits, all through suitable hydraulic and electrical conduits and conductors. The equipment shown in FIG. 8 may preferably be constructed in the form of a complete unit ready for mounting on a front board, further installation work solely comprising placing the transmission rods 5 on or in the sideboards 1 and placing the locking bolt bushes 19 on or in e.g. the rear board, as well as laying any requisite hydraulic and/or electrical conduits and leads. 
     FIGS. 9a, b and c show in a manner roughly corresponding to FIGS. 2b, 3b and 3c a second exemplary embodiment of the locking mechanism, in this case bearing the reference number 44. In the same manner as the locking mechanism 4 referred to above, the locking mechanism 44 comprises a transmission rod 45, in its end pointing left in FIG. 9 being permanently connected to a latch bolt 46, and with its end pointing towards the right in FIG. 9 being permanently connected to an ejector 47. 
     The sideboard 1, the inward movement of which is limited by two stops 48 and 49 or equivalent means, is locked against outward movement in the position shown in FIG. 9a, partly by the engagement of the latch bolt 46 with an aperture 50 in the front board 6, partly by the engagement between a latch bolt 51 resiliently supported on the rear board 20 and the bore 52, in which the ejector 47 is slidably supported. When the sideboard 1 is to be moved from the position shown in FIG. 9a to the one shown in FIG. 9c, an actuating cylinder 53 secured to the front board 6 is actuated to push an ejector 54 secured to its piston rod into the aperture 50 and thereby press the latch bolt 46 back until the ejector 54 with a collar 55 abuts against the front board 6 (or a fitting secured thereto). 
     This action disengages the latch bolt 46 from the aperture 50, so that it no longer constitutes a hindrance for moving the sideboard 1 outwards. Simultaneously with the movement of the latch bolt 46 from the position shown in FIG. 9a to the one shown in FIG. 9b the ejector 47 is moved to a position, in which its end surface pointing towards the right in the Figure is aligned with the end surface on the sideboard 1 (or on a corresponding fitting), by which the latch bolt 51 supported by a leaf spring 56 is pressed out of its locking engagement. The sideboard 1 may now be moved from the position shown in FIG. 9b to the one in FIG. 9c and further to positions corresponding e.g. to the ones shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 by means of the actuating mechanism 3 not shown in this Figure (or an equivalent actuating mechanism). 
     The actuating cylinder 53 is in a manner corresponding to that of the above-mentioned actuating cylinder 22 adapted to be controlled in coordination with the actuating mechanism 3 substantially in the manner referred to above. Thus, when the sideboard 1 is to be moved from the open position shown in FIG. 9c to the closed position shown in FIG. 9a, it is not necessary to actuate the cylinder 53, since the two latch bolts 46 and 51 are pressed back during the movement towards the closed position in the same manner as the latch bolt in an ordinary door lock. For this purpose, the latch bolts 46 and 51 have oblique ramps 57 and 58 respectively. The transmission rod 45 is returned to the position shown in FIG. 9a by means of a spring 59, permanently urging the rod towards the left in FIG. 9. 
     FIG. 9 is purely diagrammatic, and thus this figure does not show any requisite means to ensure that the end of the ejector 47 facing right in FIG. 9 is precisely aligned with the end surface of the sideboard 1 when the ejector 54 has pressed the latch bolt 46 out of engagement as shown in FIG. 9b. Such an alignment could be ensured by placing mutually cooperating abutment means on the ejector 47 and the right hand end of the sideboard 1 for ensuring the correct alignment position, by making the transmission rod 45 slightly resilient in the longitudinal direction, and by shaping the latch block 47 and the means cooperating therewith in such a manner, that the extent of the movements of the latch block 46 from the locking position to the release position shown in FIG. 9b is somewhat greater than the requisite movement of the ejector 47. By this arrangement, when the latch bolt 46 is pressed back by the ejector 54, the transmission rod 45 will first move the ejector 47 into abutment in the correct alignment position, whereupon any further movement of the latch bolt 46 will be taken up by the resiliency of the transmission rod 45 (such an arrangement is not shown in the drawings, but persons skilled in the art will be able to construct the requisite mechanisms without further guidance). 
     Normally, the ejector 54 is held in the position shown in FIG. 9a by a spring 60 placed inside the cylinder 53, so that the cylinder 53 may be constructed as a single-acting cylinder. 
     It is also within the scope of the present invention to let the actuating cylinder 13 serve both the actuating mechanism 3 and the locking mechanism 4 or 44 according to a known principle. For this purpose the actuating rod 15 of the actuating mechanism 3 may be connected to the sideboard 1 through a lost-motion mechanism (not shown), which in the initial phase of the movement of the cylinder 13 actuates the locking mechanism 4 or 44 respectively to move the transmission rod 5 or 45 respectively towards the left in FIG. 2b or towards the right in FIG. 9a respectively, after which stage further movement of the cylinder 13 will be transmitted to the sideboard 1 for moving same outwardly from the vertical closing position shown in FIG. 2. 
     A further possibility (not shown) consists in letting the sideboard itself constitute the transmission member for transmitting locking and unlocking movements from that end of the sideboard, where the actuating mechanism is situated, to the opposite end of the sideboard. Such an embodiment may e.g. be realized by letting the sideboard be both pivotably and longitudinally translatably supported on hinges corresponding to the axis 2 in FIG. 2a and by constructing mutually cooperating locking engagement means on the two ends of the sideboard and the adjacent parts of the front and back boards, said engagement means being arranged in such a manner that a longitudinal movement of the sideboard in one direction causes unlocking, while a longitudinal movement in the opposite direction causes locking engagement. In the same manner as the parts of the locking mechanism described above, the said mutually cooperating locking engagement means be arranged in such a manner, that they enable a latching effect to take place when the sideboard is being closed, the sideboard for this purpose possibly being spring-loaded in the direction of the latter longitudinal direction, i.e. the locking direction.